Un Vie Pour Toi
by Yami Alchemist
Summary: Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen is in desperate need of a housekeeper, but everyone he hires runs away when they see his "other form." What is he to do when fate throws Haru Yoshioka literally into his arms? Why, hire her as his houskeeper of course!
1. Chapter 1

Yay! I finally started on this story! I had watched this movie about a week ago and couldn't resist wanting to write a story. So here it is.

Also, I have a new role playing site. It's called Hogwarts Destiny. I would love it if people joined. The site is: h t t p : / / hogwarts destiny . forumotion . com / (Without the spaces of course.)

Anyways, on with the story!

See you at the bottom!

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A large cloud crossed over the full, bright moon. A warm breeze traveled a path across the vast grounds that belonged to a very famous noble. A noble with a strange, but not necessarily dark, secret. The huge three story mansion sat quietly, only a few lights on in the entire place. Inside, a maid with hair like spun gold, and light blue eyes cleaned the mantle free from dust. She had only taken on this job because of who the noble was, not because she could clean. In fact, she was a very poor cleaner, but the noble had been desperate. The man in question was in the only other room that had a light turned on. He paced back and forth nervously. The window to his room was open wide, and he turned and looked fearfully up at the moon that was blocked by the clouds. Slowly and steadily, the clouds moved and the light shined down onto the noble. As he closed his eyes, his body began to transform. Orange and cream colored fur grew all over his body and his ears moved up on top of his head, becoming pointed. Whiskers grew out and a tail flicked back and forth behind him. His eyes became slanted, and when he opened them, the pupils had become black slits. The transformation was complete and he sighed heavily.

Walking over to the window, he placed a hand on the window sill and jumped. Landing silently on his feet, he turned and looked back up at the window. Being a half cat came in handy when he needed to jump from high places. Not to mention the ability to see in the dark. Turing away from the mansion, he walked away into the shadows, disappearing without a trace. Unbeknownst to the nobel standing at the window was the maid, her mouth open in shock. Her blue eyes were opened as far as they could go. A few quiet squeaks came out of her mouth before she took a deep breath and screamed. The noble was at the tree line and he turned around sharply just in time to see the girl run out of the mansion and down the pathway towards town. He cursed loudly. She was the 15th girl that he had hired. This one hadn't even lasted a day. Grasping his cane in his hand, he made his way back into the mansion. There was no point in spending the night outside if the girl wasn't going to be around any longer. Walking in the door, he calmly shut it behind it behind him and made his way into the living room. He made his way over to the window and opened it, letting in the nightly breeze. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the cool air brushing over his fur, his whiskers dancing slightly. Opening his eyes, he moved over to one of the high backed chairs in the room. Collapsing in it, he sighed and pulled his top hat off, setting it on the stand in front of him. Just as he was about to close his eyes again, the door to the room opened and revealed an old woman with graying red hair and brown eyes slowly making her way in. A tea set rattled slightly in her old hands and the feline immediately stood up.

Crossing the room quickly, he gently took the tea set from her hands and set it down on the stand before helping the old woman down onto the love seat that matched the chair he had sat in. He shook his head at her and said, "Really now, Serena. How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to do this anymore?"

"I'm old, not deaf," she said with a small smile on her face, "I know you told me not to, but you should also know better than to think that I won't still do it."

The half-cat shook his head and chuckled as he replied, "You're right. I should know better."

"Exactly," she said with a sharp nod. She watched as the feline made them both a cup of tea, gratefully accepting the cup he handed to her. She took a small sip and murmured, "Still not as good as yours, but it still tastes good."

The feline took a sip of his own cup after he sat back down. He gave her a small smile and said, "It still tastes refreshing. Especially after having to do _that_."

"Ah, yes," Serena said with an understanding nod, "Another one ended up seeing your cat form. I swear they must have heard her in town."

"I'm surprised that the town hasn't stormed the mansion yet," he said as a frown crossed his face, "What with all the reports of a cat demon supposedly living up here."

"The people love you too much," she said with a small smile. Setting her cup down, she stood up and grabbed the duster the blonde maid had left. Walking over to the mantle, she proceeded to clean it properly, despite her old age, "You take care of them, and protect them from thieves and murders. Not to mention you willingly, and physically, help them when they need it most. Not many of your stature would do that."

He sighed and watched her work. When he was younger, still a young boy, she had been hired to clean the house. She was told to never go in his room at night. A few months after she was hired, a huge thunderstorm had occurred. Serena was hurrying around closing all of the windows in the mansion when she heard what sounded like crying coming from his room. Not being the kind to stand for tears, she disregarded her employer's rules and walked into the boy's room. She had been shocked when she saw the sweet little boy she doted on during the day had turned into a cat at night. Instead of screaming and running like so many others had, she calmly walked over to the bed and hugged the frightened kitten. She gently sang him back to sleep as the storm raged on about them, never letting go of her grip on the small creature. Not that she could. The kitten had gripped her shirt so tightly that she doubted that she could successfully move without waking him up. So she kept watch over him until the morning, when his father had walked in. At first, he was angry and was about to fire her when his son had spoken up and told his father that she had helped chase the storm away during the night. The older man was shocked and had turned to Serena, questions floating in his eyes. She had simply shrugged and said, "Boy, cat, he's still the same young child I take care of. A species change won't stop me from taking care of him."

Years later, after he had grown up, he still remembered her words, and they always brought a fond smile to his face. A smile that quickly disappeared with the next thought. Why couldn't he find a housekeeper that wasn't afraid of seeing him in his cat form? Serena had told him to be patient and to keep looking, but he was starting to get frustrated. He made a resolve right then and there. If he couldn't find a decent housekeeper who wasn't afraid of his cat form within the next month, then he was simply going to give up and start learning how to clean on his own. _Who knows,_ he thought to himself, _things might actually get done faster if I do._

Serena had finished dusting and had sat back down on the love seat, giving a small groan. Rubbing her back, she looked at the feline and said, "My back isn't what it used to be."

"Which is why I told you to stop trying to clean the house," he said sternly, but gently.

She sighed and nodded her head, "Maybe you're right. Are you going to try and find another housekeeper?"

"I've decided that if I don't find one by the end of the month that's not afraid of this," he said as he gestured to his body, "Then I'm just going to learn how to clean for myself."

Serena chuckled a bit, "You've got a lot to learn then, little kitten, if you're going to clean this whole house by yourself."

Little kitten was the nickname she gave him when he was younger, and it still brought a smile to his lips. He grinned at her before speaking, "I never said I'd do it by myself."

"Oh no…" she groaned as she rested her head against the back of the love seat, "You're not going to get those two involved are you?"

"If I have to, yes," he said with a small nod. He hated having to get his two best friends in on the cleaning, especially since they always seemed to bicker when they were in each other's company, but darn it, he wouldn't be able to clean the whole mansion by himself.

"I think that that's a terrible idea," she said as she shook her head, "But you're the boss."

A small silence lapsed between the two for a little while, each drawn in their own thoughts. The old grandfather clock in the room struck the hour and the feline glanced over at it. He sighed and stood up, "I think I'm going to go to bed, Serena. Now that I can actually sleep in one."

She nodded her head. The poor half-cat had been forced for the past several weeks to spend his nights outside because of the new maids. She knew how tough it was on him, not being able to sleep in a bed. She waved him away as she said, "I'm going to stay down here for a while and just enjoy the nice night. You go get some sleep, little kitten."

He nodded and kissed her gently on the cheek, smiling as she laughed a little from his whiskers. He was about to turn and leave the room when she gently caught his arm. Turning back to her, he looked down at her, silently asking her what she wanted.

"Give it a little more time," she said to him. Patting his arm, she released it as she continued, "You'll find someone. I'm sure of it."

Sighing, he nodded once more as he started to walk away. Just as he reached the door, he murmured quietly, "Good night, Serena."

The old woman smiled as she rested her frail body. Giving a small wave, she replied, "Good night, Baron."

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*giggles* Baron is so cool. Sorry if he seems a little OOC here. I promise he won't be like that in the upcoming chapters.

Pretty please review? I like reviews. They make me happy.

Jaa!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter two! Yay! This gave me a tiny bit of problem, because it didn't want to write the way I wanted it to, but I eventually got it to work. I actually like this more than the original idea I had.

Anyways, before the story begins, a few shout outs.

Catsafari - I do have to admit, I've done that before. Making the characters quite OOC to fit the plot. But hey, it worked though. I think Baron's a little bit more in character in this chapter. At least, I hope so anyway. Thanks for the review!

Midnight the Black Fox - I love that story by yarningchick! It's one of my favorites for this paring. And I try to update whenever I can. With this story, I'm going to try to update either everyday, or every other day, if I can help it. Thanks for the review!

Nanenna - I certainly hope you'll stick around! Thanks for the review!

Aznchocoholic - I too would love to be Baron's housekeeper! He's so cool! *giggles* And you don't have to worry, Haru shows up in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

Bluehatter - Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

Okay, I'm done. *smiles* On with the chapter!

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"Welcome," a young brown haired girl said as she bowed. Pulling out a small notebook and a pen, she smiled and asked, "What would you like?

The couple in front of her was looking at menus, trying to decide what to eat. The girl finally set her menu down and looked up at the waitress, "I'll just have a bowl of tomato soup and a plain salad, no dressing."

The boy studied the menu for a few moments longer as the waitress wrote down what his female companion had ordered. Finally deciding on something, he also set his menu down and turned to her, "I'll have a bowl of clam chowder and two grilled cheese sandwiches."

The waitress nodded her head as she wrote down the order. She paused for a moment to ask if there was anything else they wanted. Once they said no, she turned and headed towards the back of the restaurant. After hanging up the order so the cook would see it, she picked up another one and hurried out into the restaurant. She approached the table where that she was serving and quickly set their food on the table. The older woman sitting there carefully cut into a piece of the chicken she ordered and took a bite just as the young waitress was about to walk away. The woman spat the chicken out and called to her, "Miss, could you please come back here?"

The girl turned around and walked back over to the table, her chocolate brown eyes filled with confusion as she asked, "Is there something wrong, Ma'am?"

"Yes," the woman said as she sniffed the air disdainfully, "This chicken tastes horrible! I wish to speak to the chef that made it."

"Yes, Ma'am," the waitress said quickly before turning and hurrying into the kitchen. She told the chef that a woman had a complaint and he went to take care of it. Sighing tiredly, the waitress picked up the order the young couple had made and went back out into the restaurant. She glanced over to the chef to see him grimace at the taste of the chicken. Vaguely she wondered what was wrong with it as she weaved her way through the tables. She was just about to walk up to their table when a small boy ran out in front of her. She tripped, and in an effort to not hurt the boy, she twisted her body to the side and fell to the floor with a crash. The entire restaurant stopped talking as they looked over at the commotion. The young waitress sat up and rubbed her ankle, which she managed to twist in the fall. Looking up, she gasped in horror as she saw that the food she had been holding had landed on the girl she was supposed to serve. Standing up quickly, and ignoring the pain in her ankle, she quickly grabbed some napkins and tried to clean the mess up. The young woman stood up, her eyes sparkling in fury as she looked down on the waitress. Her hands balled into fists as she started to yell at her waitress. The brown haired girl opened her mouth to apologize, but found she couldn't even get a word in.

A skinny man with receding hair hurried over to them quickly and attempted to calm the girl down. Only after offering a free meal of their choosing did she actually stop yelling. The man, who happened to be the restaurant's owner, roughly grabbed the waitress by the arm and began pulling her towards one of the exits as he whispered harshly to her, "That's the fifth time this week. The guests are starting to complain. We're losing clientele because of your klutzy ways."

The young waitress feebly tried to apologize, but the owner ignored her and continued to yell at her for being clumsy as he led her out the door. Neither they, nor the guests, noticed as a man quietly slipped out one of the other doors. The owner shook her arm roughly as he said, "I don't even understand why I hired you. You can't focus on your job. You always get orders mixed up. You trip or fall into everyone. You are useless. Completely useless…"

"I'm not useless…" she whispered, her sadness slowly turning to anger.

"I doubt you'll ever amount to anything," the man said, oblivious to her rising anger, "You can't do anything worth saving your life. You are useless to everyone around you and you always will be…"

"I'm not useless…" she murmured even stronger. Her body began to shake in anger and her eyes clouded over in tears. She stopped and pushed him away from her hard as she shouted, "I'm not useless!"

The man stumbled and grunted as his back came in contact with the wall behind him. The young girl gasped at what she had done and her hands flew to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Oh my… I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

He glared at her, his eyes filled with anger as he slowly stepped towards her. Raising his hand, he said angrily, "Why you…"

Just as he was about to hit her, a gloved hand shot out and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back as he was shoved face first into the wall. Whoever had grabbed his arm let go and he turned around, growling at the interference before the noise died in his throat. His own eyes widened and he took a step back at the intense glare he was on the receiving end of. In front of him stood a tawny haired man with deep emerald green eyes that were narrowed angrily at the owner. The light grey suit and polished wooden cane gave away exactly who he was and the owner gave a small squeak in surprise as he tried to find his voice, "M-M-Mr. Von Gikkingen…"

"Just what exactly were you going to do?" Baron's voice whispered quietly.

The man gulped visibly and tried to explain his actions to the furious nobleman, "You see, I…"

"You were going to hit a defenseless young woman," Baron said, his fury clearly evident in his voice. His green eyes glittered angrily as he gently pushed the young waitress behind him, her eyes wide as she looked at him, awe clearly showing on her face.

"I… she…" the owner stumbled over his words as he started to quake in fear. He took another step backwards and gasped softly as his back connected once more with the brick wall.

Baron took a step forward and looked down at the man, contempt written all across his face as he said, "Get out of my sight. I never want to see you step near this young lady again, understand?"

"Yes, sir," the man squeaked as he took off running back into the restaurant.

Baron glared after him before giving an irritated sigh. Turning around, he smiled at the young waitress kindly, "Are you alright, Miss?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes," she said as a dark blush slowly spread across her cheeks, "I'm fine, thank you."

"You're quite welcome," Baron said as he swept his top hat off of his head and bowed to her, "Please forgive my manners, my name is Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen."

"H-H-Haru," she said quickly, "Yoshioka Haru, but please, call me Haru."

Baron placed the hat back on his head and smiled warmly at her, "It's pleasure to meet you, Miss Haru. Now, what exactly was that all about, if I may ask?"

"Oh," Haru said her expression turning from awe to slight sadness, "That was Mr. Yoko. He hired me three weeks ago. I get really nervous around people and it makes me a little bit klutzy. I guess he got tired of me always causing accidents. I swear I don't mean to. They just sort of… happen."

"But that wouldn't have warranted enough for him to hit you," Baron said as he crossed his arms and looked at her thoughtfully.

Haru blushed and looked down at her feet, her expression turning even sadder as she whispered, "He was going to hit me because I shoved him. He called me useless and I got angry. I know I shouldn't have gotten angry. He was right after all. I _am_ useless, I guess…"

She abruptly stopped speaking when a gloved hand gently reached under and lifted her chin up. Her blush darkened when she noticed how close Baron was to her. She looked into his eyes and suddenly felt like she was drowning in their emerald depths. He stared into her own eyes as he said quietly, but sternly, "You are _not_ useless, Miss Haru. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Everyone has a use, no matter how small it is. Always believe in yourself. Do this and you can do anything. Understand?"

Haru nodded slightly as she gazed up at him. She seemed frozen in place, whether by his words or by his touch, she couldn't tell. All she knew was she wouldn't mind listening to him talk all day. _He's so cool…_ she thought to herself.

Baron took a step back and released her chin. His smile returned as he offered her his arm, "If you don't mind, I would like to escort you home."

"Oh, okay," Haru murmured as she looped her arm through his. She forced herself to look in front of her instead of at his face as they began to walk. Everything started to finally start processing in her brain and she gave a small groan.

"Is there something wrong?" Baron asked as he looked down at her.

"I'm going to have to find another job," Haru said with a heavy sigh, "I won't be able to afford my apartment if I don't find another one. Just great."

Baron became strangely quiet for a moment, his expression thoughtful. She did admit to being clumsy, and he _had_ seen what had happened in the restaurant, even if it wasn't her fault. He didn't even know if she could do housework at all… but something was telling him that he should hire her. It wasn't as if he had anything to lose, and she _had_ to be better than the last girl. He shook his head slightly before looking down at her and asking, "Miss Haru… how well can you clean?"

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Cliffhanger! I couldn't help but leave it off there. The story practically begged that it be stopped there.

Don't forget to review! See you in the next chapter!

Jaa!


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